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    Fifth Report of the Vestry of the Parish of Chelsea [1860-1]
    Fifth Report of the Vestry of the Parish of Chelsea [1860-1]
    Fifth Report of the Vestry of the Parish of Chelsea [1860-1]
    Ebook385 pages3 hours

    Fifth Report of the Vestry of the Parish of Chelsea [1860-1]

    By Charles Lahee

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    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArchive Classics
    Release dateNov 26, 2013
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      Book preview

      Fifth Report of the Vestry of the Parish of Chelsea [1860-1] - Charles Lahee

      The Project Gutenberg eBook, Fifth Report of the Vestry of the Parish of

      Chelsea [1860-1], by Charles Lahee

      This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

      almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or

      re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

      with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

      Title: Fifth Report of the Vestry of the Parish of Chelsea [1860-1]

      Author: Charles Lahee

      Release Date: August 26, 2013  [eBook #43559]

      Language: English

      Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

      ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FIFTH REPORT OF THE VESTRY OF THE

      PARISH OF CHELSEA [1860-1]***

      Transcribed from the 1861 edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org.  Many thanks to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Library Service for allowing their copy to be used for this transcription.

      FIFTH REPORT

      OF THE

      Vestry of the Parish of Chelsea,

      IN THE

      COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX,

      APPOINTED UNDER THE

      METROPOLIS LOCAL MANAGEMENT ACT, 1855.

      1860–1.

      Ordered to be printed September 24th, 1861.

      LONDON:

      C. & F. BELL, MACHINE PRINTERS,

      (By Appointment to the Vestry of Chelsea),

      133, KING’S ROAD.

      1861.

      TABLE OF CONTENTS.

      FIFTH REPORT

      OF THE

      Vestry of the Parish of Chelsea,

      For the Year ended March 25th, 1861.

      MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, AND ESTABLISHMENT ARRANGEMENTS.

      The result of the ward elections on the 29th of May, 1860, was to effect the following changes in the constitution of the board:—

      Descriptions, with plans, of the several wards, with the names and addresses of the members of the vestry representing them, of the auditors of the accounts, and of the officers, as required by the Act to be given in each report, will be found in the Appendix No. 1 (pages 28 to 36).

      At Easter, 1860, the usual election of churchwardens, sidesmen, church trustees, and auditors of the church trustees’ accounts took place; their names and addresses, together with those of the persons previously nominated as fit to serve the office of overseers of the poor, and submitted for the choice of the magistrates in special sessions, will be found in the Appendix No. 3, (page 37).

      The vestry on Easter Tuesday also elected John Moore Segar, son of John Moore Segar deceased, for admission into the parochial charity school, pursuant to the will of the late John Chamberlayne, Esquire.

      The return usually ordered by the board previous to the annual election, showing the attendances of each member, is reprinted in the Appendix No. 2 (and faces page 36); but as the period embraced in that return does not entirely correspond with the parochial year, the tabular arrangement commenced in the last report is continued:—

      A list of the members who have served upon the various committees, and sub-committees, during the year, is given in the Appendix No. 4 (pages 38 to 41); and the list annually issued by the vestry clerk, containing the names and places of abode of the parochial clergy and lay officers, immediately follows it.  Appendix No. 5 (pages 42 to 46).

      In November, 1860, in consequence of the numerous additional matters connected with the new building, into which the vestry had now removed, requiring the hall-keeper’s attention, the clerk reported that the messenger’s duties were not satisfactorily performed, and the subject being referred to one of the standing committees for consideration, a youth was appointed upon their recommendation at ten shillings per week to commence with.

      During this year the vestry have contemplated some alterations in the salaries of the officers, and upon the application of Mr. J. E. Salway, one of the office clerks, for increased remuneration, in December, 1860, referred the whole question of their duties and salaries to the committee of works and for general purposes for consideration.  That committee for the purpose of comparison, and in order to have some data before them upon which to form a satisfactory opinion, requested Mr. Tite, M.P., to move the House of Commons for a return from each vestry and district board in the metropolis, of its population; number of houses; extent of its area; aggregate length of its streets; and the value of property, as assessed to live county rate, and the poor rate.  The committee wished this return also to show the number of meetings held during the year, whether of the full board or of committees, or sub-committees; as well as the names and salaries of the officers, with particulars of any other benefits enjoyed by them: and that this information might be tabularly arranged in the order of the amount of population of each place.  See Appendix No. 6 (page 47).

      Mr. Tite however replied that Sir John Shelley had moved for such a return, referring to one similar to that printed at page 69 in the second report, but as the return moved for by Sir John Shelley differed from that suggested by the committee, in several important particulars, the vestry requested Mr. Tite to obtain the introduction into it of the additional information.

      The act for regulating the supply of gas to the metropolis rendered it necessary that the vestry should consider the appointment of a Gas Examiner; and having themselves determined to put in operation in this parish the act for preventing the adulteration of articles of food and drink by appointing an Analyst; a committee was appointed in March, 1861, to confer with Dr. Barclay as to his acceptance of the latter office, and the terms upon which he would undertake its duties, having regard to his diminished duties as medical officer of health.  This Committee was amalgamated with one appointed subsequently, and specially, to consider the duties and salary of the medical officer of health, to whom was referred also, the question of the appointment of the gas examiner.

      In consequence of the heavy amount of the solicitors’ (Messrs. Lee and Pemberton) bill for the year 1859–60, which included the greater part of the law charges in the actions brought against the vestry by the London Gas Light Company and Mr. Hornsby, the contractor, those gentlemen suggested in the following letter to the vestry clerk that they should be taxed:—

      44, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, W.C., London,

      18th May, 1860.

      Dear Sir, We have given the subject of our Mr. Pemberton’s conversation with you respecting our bill of costs, mature consideration, and feeling the delicate position in which the vestry are placed as trustees accountable to their constituents, we would suggest that for the future all our bills be referred to Mr. Richard Dax, of the Temple, barrister at law, for taxation, and to certify the amount properly payable to us.  This course is adopted by the Great Western and North Western railway companies, the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton railway company, the Shrewsbury railway company, the Metropolitan railway company now in course of formation, all of whom refer their solicitors’ bills to Mr. Dax for the satisfaction of the shareholders, and we believe it to be the practice with nearly all railway and other large companies; should the vestry resolve to do so, we shall feel great pleasure in submitting our bills to Mr. Dax, and being bound by his certificate, as it is extremely distasteful to us that any doubt should exist in the minds of the vestry as to the propriety or amount of any item charged by us, which however there almost necessarily must be, from the technical manner in which solicitors are obliged to make out their bills.  We ought to add, that we have no sort of personal acquaintance with Mr. Dax, who is the son of the late Master of the Exchequer, and a well known author and authority on the subject of solicitors’ costs.  Should the vestry adopt our suggestion, we must ask to be allowed to make out the bills now before them, afresh, as they are not framed for taxation, and that in future, our bills should be delivered half-yearly and paid within a short time after they have been certified, and we remain, dear Sir, your’s faithfully,

      Lee & Pemberton.

      The vestry, having accepted the proposal, returned the bills to the solicitors as desired, and requested Mr. Finch, a solicitor and a member of the vestry, to attend the taxation.  This, after a strong protest from the solicitors, he did; and the accounts amounting to £914. 3s. 5d., as originally delivered, were settled by Mr. Dax at £998. 8s. 7d., including the costs of taxation.

      The law costs for the present year have been submitted to the same process, and have been certified by Mr. Dax to be correct at the amount at which they were sent in,—viz., £177. 1s. 6d.

      Mr. Miles having been elected to preside at eighty-three meetings, out of the one hundred and fifty-three held during the year, his services as chairman were again acknowledged by a vote of thanks on the twenty-first of May.  The thanks of the vestry have been also given during the year to Mr. Perry on the eighth of May, for his exertions as delegate at the metropolitan and county association for the equalization of the poor rates; and to Mr. Foy on the fourth of December, for the tasteful way in which the decorations of the vestry hall, on the occasion of the inauguration dinner were carried out by him.

      GENERAL WORKS.

      Appendix No. 7 (pages 48–49), represents the cost, during the past year under the several sub-heads of paving, lighting, watering, cleansing, &c., and the provision made for meeting the same, by orders upon the board of guardians.

      The surveyor’s return upon this subject forms Appendix No. 8 (page 50).

      PAVING.

      The cost of the item of paving during the past year, exceeding the estimate by four hundred and fifty pounds, has been unusually heavy,—viz., £3042 2s. 10d., after allowing for the sum chargeable to the several public companies and others for works executed for them.  This is about twelve hundred and fifty pounds more than the cost of the same item of expenditure in the year 1856–7, after making the same allowances; upwards of four hundred pounds more than in 1857–8, eight hundred pounds more than in 1858–9, and six hundred pounds more than last year.  It has been occasioned mainly by the purchase of the following materials, and by works executed in the places hereinafter named:—

      In the last report it was stated that the question at issue between the Chief Commissioner of Her Majesty’s Works, &c., and the vestry, as to the taking charge and maintenance of the Chelsea Bridge Road, was in an unsatisfactory state, and the position of that question was stated in the appendix to the fourth report (No. 9), at pages 45 to 52, up to the receipt of Mr. Austin’s letter of the 27th June, 1860.  The proceedings since that date will be found in the Appendix to this report, No. 9 (pages 51 to 55).

      LIGHTINGS

      The Metropolis Gas Act received the royal assent on the 28th August, 1860: it contains fifty-seven clauses, many of them most important for the protection of public and private consumers.  By the twenty-seventh section of the act (23 & 24 Vic., cap. 125) the vestry are required to provide apparatus for testing the illuminating power and purity of the gas, and to appoint a competent person as examiner; and by the same section the gas

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